1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to antennas. More specifically, the present invention relates to multiband focal plane array antennas.
While the invention is described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for an illustrative application, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teaching provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications and embodiments within the scope thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Focal plane array antennas include an array of radiating elements which may be individually excited to provide an electrically steered beam. Microstrip patch antenna arrays provide a focal plane array antenna of lightweight construction which is particularly useful for spacecraft applications.
Typically, microstrip patch array antennas operate at a single frequency. Accordingly, multiple frequency operation may require multiple arrays, each operating within a separate portion of a frequency spectrum. If one or more low frequencies are required this may be particularly problematic due to the size and weight requirements of conventional patch array antennas. Accordingly, the heretofore common practice of using several conventional array antennas for multi-frequency operation has necessitated large, unwieldy, heavy, costly antenna configurations.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a compact, lightweight, multi-frequency array antenna.